Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 May 20, 2017 6:47 pm Hi all, coming into the 2nd winter for my Sapphire lawn here in Melbourne. Already starting to get yellowy brown slimy patches - has happened in just over a week. Is it just damping off because the days are cooler and it doesn't get to dry the dew off it during the day? Certainly not from watering it. It did have a final trim (at the highest setting i.e. leaving lawn with the longest length of grass blade) 2 weeks ago b/c it had become too shaggy with some late warm weather. Otherwise I would have forgone the final trim. It took almost until Christmas this year to get its robust green lush look back.. And it looked stunning. But as soon as it gets cool, it quickly becomes very unattractive. If I rake the dead bits out of it, it just looks bare in those patches all winter until it gets going again. Also the clover etc starts to colonise those bare spots. Can I spray the weeds over winter. Even with a regular program of approved buffalo weed spraying product this year I was unable to get all the clover patches out. Or whether I should cut my losses and put in a cooler weather lawn.... But the promos for these buffalos suggest they should be able to survive Melbourne winter. I'd love the advice of some more experienced lawn carers!! The rest of my garden thrives and I'm a keen gardener. Just a lawn failure! Thanks!! Re: Sapphire lawn over winter in Melbourne 2Jun 03, 2017 10:34 am Mine is starting to do the same in nsw. The first year it went ok but i had it fertilised up just before the cool spell. This winter i dumped chicken manure on top of it 2 weeks ago doesnt seem to have done anything really although in summer the manure worked well. I would suggest only watering it after long spells of no rain and only in the morning on a sunny day. I noticed if i watered at night in the morning the lawn would be yellow its also a great way to introduce fungus as the lawn never dries and is constantly wet. Should really only need to mow it once every 6 to 8 weeks and always on highest setting you only want to just trim off the top of the grass after a mow it should look a tad better. Winter I dont like but when spring hits fertilie up and it should bounce back, Re: Sapphire lawn over winter in Melbourne 3Jun 03, 2017 1:58 pm thanks for your response It was fertilised as per instructions in autumn and i don't water it at all over winter - unless it's unseasonally hot or we have drying winds.. It doesn't get full sun during winter due to large peppercorn tree to the north but I think it's as much to do with the cold temps as sunlight bc some of the same shading happens in summer but it's warmer. I reckon the lawn is just not as well suited to Melbourne as they say when they sell it to you. Re: Sapphire lawn over winter in Melbourne 4Jun 05, 2017 10:26 pm If broadleaf grass like buffalos are not well suited to Melbourne climate, what else do you think is suitable? This is my patch of Sapphire lawn. The photo was taken late this afternoon. It was laid 5 years ago in autumn by myself. I didn't even do a proper job of doing the soil prep, basically a few metres of compost and zeolite hoe in with whatever crap were already in there, removed a ton of rocks on the way and lightly compact the whole area then down the sapphire grass. Fed it with Seasol/Powerfeed/Molasses mix once a week for the first 2 months and sprinkled a bit of Blood-n-Bone, chicken manure pallets the following spring just before mowing, no more fertiliser after that, deep water it once a fortnight in summer and no water in between unless there is heatwave. That was it. Oh and I never use the catcher when mowing and I never have trouble with weed in lawn. There maybe 1 or 2 tried to popup around the border during winter that's all. As for your issue, may I say 1 Don't use Weed-n-Feed. That stuff is like the chemotherapy drug, it kills more than just cancer. It stresses and weaken the lawn. 2. Don't fertilise your lawn in late autumn. It only promotes new growth when there is not enough time for the new growth to harden off. 3. Don't use the catcher when mowing your lawn. The lawn clipping is the best lawn fertiliser. All the nutrients that are needed to grow that lovely grass leaf blade are in the leaf blades. It's winter after all, lawn while evergreen still go dormant, meaning it's not actively growing and it will never look as good as it would in summer. Built: Modified H3nl3y S0h0 Q1 in Melbourne :- Never again the leaves that are now underground go yellow, the tips that poke through photosynthesise and have chlorophyll, same reason they grow rhubarb in the dark. 5 4834 Hi everyone, Looking for some advise. We are about to build an above ground pool in our backyard. There is a private sewer line running under the pool at 1.6m… 0 11731 Much a do about nothing. You can see the fall heading to the actual drains. Stormwater ingress will be minimal and it's far better to have the top sitting flush rather… 12 6180 |